The Bois and Read Families' trip to Scotland

We were in the plane above the clouds in no time.  I caught one last glimpse of Loch Ness and then saw nothing but clouds until somewhere over northern England.

Southern England was in the midst of a heat wave.  Just a few days before, we had been bundled up in thick coats on a Scottish beach but now in London, even T-shirts were too warm.  We checked into our hotel and  bummed around town until evening when we went to Shakespeare's Globe Theater to see Hamlet.  I had bought the tickets over the Internet before leaving home.

The theater is a reconstruction of the original.  This means it's open to the elements.  If it's raining outside, it's raining inside.  The stage and some of the seats have roofs, but it's certainly not air-conditioned.  There was little breeze inside.  The heat was tough enough on the audience, I can't imagine how it was on the actors dressed as they were in clothes meant for a medieval Danish winter.

Anyway, the play was great.  I had forgotten how much humor there is in Hamlet.  The cast did a good job balancing that with the tragedy of it.  One actress was a little overwrought but Danusia and I enjoyed it thoroughly.  Adam, a teenager, wasn't that impressed.
 

I took a few pictures from the top deck of a bus, including this one of the Stanhope Arms pub.  I don't know if there's anything special about it, except that my drummer's name is Stanhope. Don't know who the guy on the bench is.

This is an optical illusion.  H.M.S. Belfast is not as big as it looks.  Actually, it's huge, but it's also much closer to the camera than Tower Bridge.  I took this from the tour boat. Between the time we spent on the boat and on the top, open decks of busses, we pale white Floridians got ourselves sunburnt in the baking sun.

At the end of the gangplank leading to H.M.S. Belfast, there's what looks to be a tall lamp post.  I may be mistaken, but I believe it's actually the LiveSights! webcam.  The website doesn't exist anymore but it used to pan back and forth and zoom in and out at random, providing views of the Belfast, the Tower of London and Tower Bridge, 24 hours a day.

Tower Bridge is the quintessential British landmark.  Even though I've seen pictures of it for as long as I can remember, it stunned me the first time I saw it in person.  Seeing it again was just as cool. I advertised Crizzy & The Punx all day.

The first time we went to London, we took the Tube to Westminster to see Big Ben.  When we came up on to the sidewalk, I looked left.  Didn't see Big Ben.  I looked right.  Didn't see Big Ben.  I looked across the street and up.  This is exactly what I saw.  Spectacular, isn't it? Big Ben is not really the tower, it's the huge bell that tolls the hour, so you can't actually see it from outside.  The tower is part of the House of Parliament.

Right across the river from Parliament, is what I think is the biggest Ferris wheel in the world.  Each of those gondolas holds about 20 people. And I'll leave it at that.  We had a great time in London, and Scotland is a world apart.  Thanks to our friends Sarah and Al for being great companions, and more thanks to Cheryl in Luing and Patrick and Alice in Stornoway for their warmth and hospitality. Can't wait to do it all again!